Former deputy finance minister Ahmad Maslan is proposing that the Royal Malaysian Customs Department be corporatised to increase its efficiency.

Citing the Inland Revenue Board, Ahmad said the move to corporatise the Customs Department would help improve its services and ensure a more efficient tax collection.

"When you corporatise, salaries will go up, (and) Customs would have more autonomy to act.

"(Besides that), the work environment would be more sophisticated and the organisation would be world class," he said at the Parliament lobby today.

The move to corporatise the Customs Department had been studied by the previous Barisan government in 2014 and was to have been carried out the year after.

However, the move was postponed following the implementation of the goods and services tax.

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak revived the plan last year, but that, too, was postponed.

Ahmad, who is also Pontian MP, urged the new government to consider the matter and to implement the previous administration's plan.